Lufthansa Group: One World of IFEC services

Mar 28, 2018

AIX 2018: Entertainment, connectivity, shopping and safety – Lufthansa Systems presents new solutions to ensure the best passenger experience and aircraft digitalization together with Lufthansa Technik and Retail inMotion

The Lufthansa Group is in an excellent position to be successful in in-flight entertainment (IFE) and aircraft digitalization: Lufthansa Systems, Lufthansa Technik and Retail inMotion are collaborating closely to drive the digital transformation above the clouds and enable passengers to have a modern and positive travel experience. The companies present their solutions for in-flight entertainment, connectivity, shopping and other digital on-board offerings at this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg from April 10 to 12. According to the motto “One World of IFEC services”, Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Technik will be at booth #4B11 and booth #6B80.

Supporting an IFE product for an airline with a significant fleet takes a professional support organization and adequate resources – like the one offered by the Lufthansa Group. It is something most of the smaller companies with IFE solutions cannot deliver. “I have witnessed a trend toward professionalization in the industry, and I am sure that over the next two to three years we will see a huge consolidation in the market for wireless IFE solutions with only a handful of providers surviving”, says Jan-Peter Gaense, Head of Passenger Experience Products & Solutions at Lufthansa Systems. “Together with our Group partners we are in an excellent position to serve our customers.”

 

Collaboration with Lufthansa Technik

Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Technik have been engaged in a close partnership since 2015 to offer airlines inside and outside of the Lufthansa Group BoardConnect, a modern, multi-functional on-board IT platform with broadband Internet access. Thanks to its state-of-the-art docker technology, BoardConnect can also serve as the basis for an Internet portal.

Lufthansa Technik – with its many years of experience in the field of aircraft modification –handles the equipment of entire fleets from a variety of manufacturers. Lconnect comprises all relevant products and services required to equip an aircraft: In addition to the physical installation, this includes all required aeronautical and regulatory work, conversion planning and materials supply, the manufacture of diverse high-end components such as the WLAN access point, the supply of materials in regular flight operation, and the repair of defective components. “The efficient conversion of large fleets and the reliable return of every single newly equipped aircraft to airline operations are the basis for generating new ancillary revenues,” says Lukas Bucher, Head of Product Connectivity at Lufthansa Technik.

One highlight at this year’s trade fair will be the new Power-&-Safe solution for BoardConnect Portable. This solution was developed by Lufthansa Technik in close cooperation with Lufthansa Systems. In Hamburg, both companies show for the first time using a life-size model how the BoardConnect Portable Mobile Streaming Unit (MSU) can be stowed in a safe inside the overhead storage compartment. Placing an additional power supply has eliminated the need for battery replacement. The solution is currently being installed at Air Europa.

Collaboration with Retail inMotion

Most passengers want personalized services on board an aircraft – easy to use and with relevant content. With that in mind, Lufthansa Systems and Retail inMotion will, for the first time, demonstrate the integration of the BoardConnect open aircraft IT platform with Retail inMotion’s e-commerce solution at this year’s AIX. One of the platform’s features allows passengers to create a personal profile, which the software uses to suggest personalized content. The longer the profile is used, the more the algorithm learns and the better the content recommendations become. The Retail inMotion platform is powered by Vector, its proprietary on-board retail management software. Vector is a comprehensive solution for on-board retail that includes a suite of modules for onboard payment processing and various back-office functionalities.

“The interest in IFE and additional digital on-board offerings has always been very high. After a phase of mostly gathering information and evaluating, we now see more airlines ready to select a specific solution. Depending on the focus of the airline, they either opt for a short-term commitment with a portable solution or move straight to IFEC. Lufthansa Systems is one of the few providers who can deliver customized solutions based on the BoardConnect platform and in cooperation with partners to cover all variations and fleet types along the entire value chain,” emphasized Gaense.

The BoardConnect product suite

BoardConnect enables passengers to use streaming technology during a flight to access an airline’s entertainment program on their own devices. The product suite includes three hardware versions: In addition to the permanently installed classic BoardConnect solution, there is the flexible BoardConnect Portable version and the BoardConnect Plus connectivity solution. The BoardConnect 5.0 open aircraft IT platform runs on all three versions. Thanks to its modern docker technology, the software enables digital services from partners to be integrated easily and quickly. A demo at the booth shows how easy and fast new applications can be integrated using Docker technology.

Lufthansa Systems is also providing content such as movies, TV series, music and magazines with its BoardConnect Media Services. All products work in perfect harmony with each other and can be acquired separately or in combination.

Jan-Peter Gaense, Head of Passenger Experience Products & Solutions at Lufthansa Systems, will take part in a panel discussion on “Making IFE accessible for everyone” (Wednesday, April 11, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm). Free online registration is required at https://www.flightglobal.com/events/forecast-sessions-2018.

 

Caption (copyright: Lufthansa Systems): Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Technik present “One World of IFEC services” at this year’s AIX in Hamburg.

Further images can be found in the download section of our website at:

https://www.lhsystems.com/gallery/flight-entertainment